MOVE INTO GABES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 April 1943, Page 3

MOVE INTO GABES

NEW ZEALAND TROOPS WELCOMED

AFTER LONG DESERT TREK. BANKS LOOTED BY DEPARTING GERMANS. (Official War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) GABES, March 30. The first sizable stream they have crossed during the whole of their long advance from El Alamein was encountered by the New Zealanders at Gabes yesterday, and to cross it they had to make their own causeway. Before withdrawing his forces from the town the enemy had blown up the only existing causeway. The muddy nature of the stream bed made fording impossible, but sappers were soon on the job of building the temporary crossing. Using boulders and empty petrol drums with the ends removed for the water to pass through, they rebuilt he causeway, about 30 yards long, in quick time. Townspeople assisted in the later stages of the work. Such has been the speed of our advance that the enemy has been unable to carry out demolition and mine-lay-ing to the same extent as in most other stages of his retreat. When our advance elements yesterday came upon three Germans laying mines, the Germans were forced to remove those they had laid themselves and to search for others. Among the New Zealand transport during the past few days has appeared a great variety of captured enemy vehicles, including motor-cycles and side-cars, which are favoured mostly by the Maoris. ENEMY OCCUPATION. The Germans and Italians during the occupation of Gabes behaved in what the French civil administration there describes as an “officially correct” manner. That is to say, there were no “incidents.” But, as the Administrator explained in an interview with a correspondent after the British occupation of the town, this did not prevent the Germans from officially stripping houses in which they saw furnishings which they desired, or letting - it also be unofficially known that if their requirements were not promptly met by the civilian population unplea- ; sant consequences would follow. The Administrator added that in genl eral the Italians were rather less ex- , acting than the Germans. Gabes was

occupied by Italian troops, and the majority of Germans who visited it were on leave. The Administrator said that j as the British and American forces closed round Tunisia the morale of the Italians noticeably wilted, and as the ■ Eighth Army advanced many of the < Italians gave the impression that they had lost all hope of victory . The last action of the Germans before leaving' was to appropriate all the money in the Gabes bank accounts of citizens of Jewish extraction. Gabes, as many of its streets and buildings bear witness, was the target of heavy bombing during the period of occupation, and even small children when our advanced troops entered the town were still carrying French-type tin hats. The Administrator said that the bombing at the port achieved its , objective, for the enemy had not used the facilities there since the middle of February. Though the Italians were slightly less objectionable than the Germans, the : French civilian population were ex- ; tremely thankful to see both depart. • The welcome given to our troops by ; the citizens when we entered the town i was quite spontaneous. An indication ' of this was the action of a number of : people of all ages who assisted our en- ! gineers to construct the causeway on : the outskirts of the town. A number , of people who watched the operations ’ were not content to remain spectators, ; but waded into the water carrying i rocks to assist with the work. Others ) lined the streets waving to our troops - and offering them what in many cases : represented the last of their slender ■ stocks of wine saved from the Italians and Germans. The Administrator said - that the enemy had not interfered with i the food supplies, and though there ■ was a shortage of many things the people were not short of essential food. ’ PLEASANT INTERLUDE. The citizens of Gabes saw only the , fringe of the great surge of the Eighth " Army’s advance, for the majority of 1 our pursuing forces have passed it by. s Though the route of the New Zealand ■] section of the advance led through the s outskirts of Gabes, the great majority j of the New Zealanders saw only passing glimpses of its big barracks and white buildings before they moved on again in the drive toward Sfax. Nevertheless, the dark green groves of date e palms, the olive orchards and barley t fields were a welcome if fleeting intere lude after their days of desert travelling. o Gabes is roughly 50 miles from Mede- - nine by the normal coastal route, but a in order to reach it in the course of - the wide enflanking movement, begin- - ning at Medenine, then back to Ben Gardane and through the Dahar country and the Tebaga gap, the New Zeag landers had travelled 300 miles, and if the country surrounding Gabes is the y first real oasis they have seen since i- they entered Tunisia.

AGAIN BLASTED HEAVY NIGHT ATTACK ON NAPLES. BY MIDDLE EAST PLANES. LONDON, April 6. A communique from the Middle East headquarters says that Naples was raided again last night by heavy bombers of its command. Direct hits were seen on at least two moles in the harbour. Other heavy bombers attacked military buildings in the city area of Palermo. All the planes returned.